Humane treatment shouldn't be left at airport terminal

Flight attendants have a tough job, especially on today’s crowded flights, with unkempt passengers frustrated from delays and TSA indignities, attempting to bring “service animals” like peacocks aboard.

And while we’re generally against overregulation, we’re sympathetic with U.S. Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana, who planned to file a bill today to prevent airlines from putting animals in overhead bins.

A federal law prohibiting something so obvious seems ludicrous, but one airline in particular apparently hasn’t got the memo.

Of 24 animals that died on U.S. flights last year, 18 of them were on United, the airline involved.

Monday, a bulldog puppy died after a flight attendant forced its owner to place the dog carrier case in an overhead bin for a 31⁄2-hour flight, where it apparently suffocated.

Owner Catalina Robledo’s 11-year-old daughter, Sophia Ceballos, told CBS of her reaction when the attendant gave the order.

“I was like ‘It’s a dog, it’s a dog. He can’t breathe there,’” Ceballos told CBS. “(The flight attendant) was like ‘it doesn’t matter.’”

Airlines face stiff competition to make slim profit margins, but if humane treatment of passengers and their pets is left in the terminal, they deserve the financial penalties that are sure to result from incidents like the latest one.

“Violators will face significant fines,” Sen. Kennedy said of his proposed legislation. “Pets are family.”

Animal lovers may take it a little farther, such as suggesting where the flight attendant should ride on the next flight.